delhi-agra (part 4), 7 january
the next day was hell (although, i must say it, it was still fun). we hired a chauffeured car to agra and only later did we realize it was a huge mistake---even our guide warned against it! delhi and agra are only about 200-something km apart, yet the journey took us 6 hours to complete---and this is without taking into account the time we spent finding our way to fatehpur sikri (a famous moghul palace 35 km from agra, hencetoforth referred to as fps). the reason? the usual trucks, cars, rickshaws, all driving without respecting any lanes, passing on the left, on the right, using the shoulder; cows laying down in the middle of the "highway," goats wandering between the cars, people selling fake copies of dan brown's and stephen covey's books tapping on our car window... as if we never left delhi. and of course, all this happened while everybody honked like there's no tomorrow, and we listened to this honking concerto for the whole 6+ hours...
our driver got a bit cranky because the idiot had no breakfast and hadn't eaten anything. but he didn't want to stop to grab something quick, neither did he accept any of the snacks we offered him. we were supposed to stop by fps before reaching the hotel in agra but by the time we reached the city it was already too late. to make things worse, the driver decided that a better route to the palace was to go through the city, but the traffic and the general chaos was---believe it or not---even worse than delhi! then, we got pulled over by a cop. the driver asked pipi in hindi to say that this was pipi's car because he didn't have his car papers or something. we waited and waited and the cop, to avoid grabbing the attention of the passersby, instructed us (the three goras or whities in the car) to remain inside, while he attempted to get a good bribe from us through the driver. he told the driver he wouldn't be able to drive away unless he (i.e., we) paid rs 3000 (about 75 dls... more than the cost of the delhi-agra trip!). exasperated, we decided to leave the place and take another taxi to our hotel, but knowing that he wouldn't get anything at all from the penniless driver, he reduced the bribe amount to rs 1000. he asked pipi to pay the 1000 to the driver and then he sent us back to the car and extracted the bribe directly from the driver... and we made sure to deduct that amount from the total paid to the driver when he finally dropped us off in our hotel.
the hotel was very nice, a little "paradise" in the middle of this never-ending chaos called agra. it was a pleasant rooftop, where of course you can still hear the honking incessantly, but it's still nice. they have a friendly dog there at all times to scare away the monkeys and the pigeons, who would otherwise make a quick appearance to steal your food. the staff is all super nice and they helped us make plans to do all the sightseeing and change our train tix to jodhpur to a/c class, since we were warned that non-a/c would be too cold at night.
the next morning, we woke up super early (5.30am) and got ready to go see the great taj mahal. the hotel is very close-by and by 6am we were already walking towards the east gate, when it was still very dark, hoping that we'd see the taj at dawn. as usual, the ticket for foreigners is way more expensive than that for indian nationals, but the difference this time was a bit ridiculous: 20 dls vs. rs 20 (50 cents)!! however, it's interesting to see that the required fee offers more to the foreign tourists. our $20 covers a bottle of water, the camera/videocamera fee, covers for our shoes (you can't walk with shoes inside), and a nice ticket that looks almost like a postcard. instead, indians get nothing but a shitty-looking ticket.
perhaps because of the hatred between hindus and muslims, in most hindu- or muslim-specific sites we've visited, we've gone through a metal detector and a security check. the taj was, of course, no exception. we walked slowly towards the main gate, an impressively tall structure which doesn't allow you to get even the slightest peek at the architectural wonder behind it. as we walked, we became ever more excited...
we crossed the threshold, and there it was, the great taj mahal, standing imposingly in front of us. the fog was heavy and morning had yet to come, but the misty darkness gave the sight perhaps a more romantic, magical hue. we sat there and waited for the sun to come up. we had been told that the marble changes colors with the sunlight at different times of the day, and we wanted to see that by ourselves. unfortunately, the sun never truly came out because of the heavy winter fog---although, given the ridiculous pollution, we're still unsure that people can ever see the taj without that "misty hue." nonetheless, the whole place is fantastic, and we left the place electrified; somehow, having known that i have already seen the taj, made me feel like a different person.
after the taj, we had breakfast at a local place next to our hotel. the place was empty and looked a bit shady but the food was surprisingly good. the best part, though, was when rafa asked the owner if we could see the kitchen. everything was very simple but they had everything they needed including a tandoor, or clay oven. there we saw how the typical indian break, like naan, is made, and rafa even got to put one naan into the oven and take it out!
the other big thing to see near agra is fatehpur sikri. this is a beautiful palace built by emperor akbar when he changed the capital of his empire to this place. he believed in the union of all major religions, and in agreement with such beliefs, he had 3 wives---one hindu, one muslim, and one christian. the whole palace is decorated with religious motives of these 3 religions and it's really impressive---rafa even said that this place was better than the taj! i wouldn't quite agree with that statement, not because i believe the taj is better, but they are very different structures which served very different purposes... but the taj is definitely way more majestic and beautiful---although on second thoughts, the main gate of fps, the tallest in the world, i believe, is quite a sight!
on the way back, i admired the landscape. the 10km closer to the palace are surrounded by beautiful fields and natural landscapes. the road segment closer to agra is full of street bazaars and the usual chaos. i wonder why the government has not invested in a nice road connecting agra and fps, given the importance of tourism in the region---and especially given how much they charge foreigners at these places. after all, $20 go a very long way in india---just to put things in perspective, let me say that we've had entire meals for rs 40 ($1)!! so, one can only wonder what the government is doing with all the proceeds from ticket sales at these sites.
in our last evening in agra, we decided not to venture out into the city and stayed at the hotel for dinner. there we met an american lone traveler, alex, who upon hearing that i go to yale, said excited that her best friend also goes there... and it turns out that he was my student and that his roommate is some other mexican guy from monterrey... what a small world!
now, we're ready to get out of "the center" and go to rajasthan! our train departs at 6am!
our driver got a bit cranky because the idiot had no breakfast and hadn't eaten anything. but he didn't want to stop to grab something quick, neither did he accept any of the snacks we offered him. we were supposed to stop by fps before reaching the hotel in agra but by the time we reached the city it was already too late. to make things worse, the driver decided that a better route to the palace was to go through the city, but the traffic and the general chaos was---believe it or not---even worse than delhi! then, we got pulled over by a cop. the driver asked pipi in hindi to say that this was pipi's car because he didn't have his car papers or something. we waited and waited and the cop, to avoid grabbing the attention of the passersby, instructed us (the three goras or whities in the car) to remain inside, while he attempted to get a good bribe from us through the driver. he told the driver he wouldn't be able to drive away unless he (i.e., we) paid rs 3000 (about 75 dls... more than the cost of the delhi-agra trip!). exasperated, we decided to leave the place and take another taxi to our hotel, but knowing that he wouldn't get anything at all from the penniless driver, he reduced the bribe amount to rs 1000. he asked pipi to pay the 1000 to the driver and then he sent us back to the car and extracted the bribe directly from the driver... and we made sure to deduct that amount from the total paid to the driver when he finally dropped us off in our hotel.
the hotel was very nice, a little "paradise" in the middle of this never-ending chaos called agra. it was a pleasant rooftop, where of course you can still hear the honking incessantly, but it's still nice. they have a friendly dog there at all times to scare away the monkeys and the pigeons, who would otherwise make a quick appearance to steal your food. the staff is all super nice and they helped us make plans to do all the sightseeing and change our train tix to jodhpur to a/c class, since we were warned that non-a/c would be too cold at night.
the next morning, we woke up super early (5.30am) and got ready to go see the great taj mahal. the hotel is very close-by and by 6am we were already walking towards the east gate, when it was still very dark, hoping that we'd see the taj at dawn. as usual, the ticket for foreigners is way more expensive than that for indian nationals, but the difference this time was a bit ridiculous: 20 dls vs. rs 20 (50 cents)!! however, it's interesting to see that the required fee offers more to the foreign tourists. our $20 covers a bottle of water, the camera/videocamera fee, covers for our shoes (you can't walk with shoes inside), and a nice ticket that looks almost like a postcard. instead, indians get nothing but a shitty-looking ticket.
perhaps because of the hatred between hindus and muslims, in most hindu- or muslim-specific sites we've visited, we've gone through a metal detector and a security check. the taj was, of course, no exception. we walked slowly towards the main gate, an impressively tall structure which doesn't allow you to get even the slightest peek at the architectural wonder behind it. as we walked, we became ever more excited...
we crossed the threshold, and there it was, the great taj mahal, standing imposingly in front of us. the fog was heavy and morning had yet to come, but the misty darkness gave the sight perhaps a more romantic, magical hue. we sat there and waited for the sun to come up. we had been told that the marble changes colors with the sunlight at different times of the day, and we wanted to see that by ourselves. unfortunately, the sun never truly came out because of the heavy winter fog---although, given the ridiculous pollution, we're still unsure that people can ever see the taj without that "misty hue." nonetheless, the whole place is fantastic, and we left the place electrified; somehow, having known that i have already seen the taj, made me feel like a different person.
after the taj, we had breakfast at a local place next to our hotel. the place was empty and looked a bit shady but the food was surprisingly good. the best part, though, was when rafa asked the owner if we could see the kitchen. everything was very simple but they had everything they needed including a tandoor, or clay oven. there we saw how the typical indian break, like naan, is made, and rafa even got to put one naan into the oven and take it out!
the other big thing to see near agra is fatehpur sikri. this is a beautiful palace built by emperor akbar when he changed the capital of his empire to this place. he believed in the union of all major religions, and in agreement with such beliefs, he had 3 wives---one hindu, one muslim, and one christian. the whole palace is decorated with religious motives of these 3 religions and it's really impressive---rafa even said that this place was better than the taj! i wouldn't quite agree with that statement, not because i believe the taj is better, but they are very different structures which served very different purposes... but the taj is definitely way more majestic and beautiful---although on second thoughts, the main gate of fps, the tallest in the world, i believe, is quite a sight!
on the way back, i admired the landscape. the 10km closer to the palace are surrounded by beautiful fields and natural landscapes. the road segment closer to agra is full of street bazaars and the usual chaos. i wonder why the government has not invested in a nice road connecting agra and fps, given the importance of tourism in the region---and especially given how much they charge foreigners at these places. after all, $20 go a very long way in india---just to put things in perspective, let me say that we've had entire meals for rs 40 ($1)!! so, one can only wonder what the government is doing with all the proceeds from ticket sales at these sites.
in our last evening in agra, we decided not to venture out into the city and stayed at the hotel for dinner. there we met an american lone traveler, alex, who upon hearing that i go to yale, said excited that her best friend also goes there... and it turns out that he was my student and that his roommate is some other mexican guy from monterrey... what a small world!
now, we're ready to get out of "the center" and go to rajasthan! our train departs at 6am!
posted by adrián at 02:43
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